Re: Time for a New Heading Sensor . . . KVH or Airmar or (Original) Autohelm / Raymar

Glad it worked out for you. Of course now you'll miss out on all the fun of configuring a fancy new SS gyro rate compensated heading sensor into your NMEA0183 andNMEA 2000 network and you'll need to figure out what to do with that extra kilobuck you now saved! But maybe you can console yourself by going sailing instead...

__________________
... He knows the chart is not the sea.
-- Philip Booth, Chart 1203

Re: Time for a New Heading Sensor . . . KVH or Airmar or (Original) Autohelm / Raymar

Been stewing about this for a bit....I still can't help to feel a bit of disrespect for KVH.

1) they should have honored their warranty in the first place.

2) They caved instantly when Practical Sailor contacted them. Indicating they were more interested in damage control than satisfying the customer. Sure I benefit from this, but that, obviously, was not their main concern.

I would have more respect to KVH if they stuck to their guns with PS like they did with me. Their instant caving means, to me, the average joe sailor, that was not as persistant as me would have ponied up the bucks. If they have a policy, it should be applied the same to all their customers.. not make exceptions to persistant customers.

I am happy with the outcome, but their attitude going from not caring..locking horns about making me pay for the in-warranty service.. and obviously not caring about the small customer..to kissing my ass ..left a sour taste.

I am left a bit dissatisfied they couldn't work it out with me directly ( not respecting me) and needed someone (P.S.) with some clout to fight my battle because they were concerned about getting bad press.

Thanks to all that participated in this thread..getting me all riled up again about the KVH issue and the idea of contacting Practical Sailor

Re: Time for a New Heading Sensor . . . KVH or Airmar or (Original) Autohelm / Raymar

update - compass is working great. To be honest.. I think it wasn't the compass all along. There was a bad connection at a junction box. When I got the compass back, it STILL wouldnt work. long story short, reconnected all the wires in a junction box, and it worked .. all season. Not a hickup in hundreds of miles!

Re: Time for a New Heading Sensor . . . KVH or Airmar or (Original) Autohelm / Raymar

Goodto hear justice prevailed! My experience with KVH was indifferent. Slow to respond & product registration sketchy. The KVH fluxgate 1000s I had turned incendary inside. Worked well until then though.
[QUOTE=funjohnson;833298]Thanks! I bought the RC25 as I got a better price than the RC42, but wanted to hear some feedback on these units. It seems that the RC25 is just a rebranded Maretron SC200.

Just for the record
IIRC, the RC25 is just an RFC35r without the nmea 0183 output sub-board..
It does not output Simnet (N2k) It outputs rate compensated Robnet. (Simrad 0183)

Re: Time for a New Heading Sensor . . . KVH or Airmar or (Original) Autohelm / Raymar

I can add to the discussion for the sake of anyone else who may be looking to update, replace, upgrade.

NKE, who makes what is arguably the very best AP systems for sailing yachts (numeroud multi and solo wins in classes from mini 650 to big French world record tris) uses Airmar heading sensors with their own firmware update.

I know a few Mini sailors who swear by them in confused seas, downwind, surfing conditions, etc. I have heard on more than one occasion that the NKE Gyropilot can steer better than they do in these conditions. None of this is possible without good heading and true wind solutions which obviously depend heavily on the accuracy of the sensors.

I've raced on a few NKE boats and I can't speak highly enough of the accuracy of their (Airmar) heading sensors. As a bonus, their service and support is nothing short of spectacular, especially through Euro Marine Trading here in the US.

Re: Time for a New Heading Sensor . . . KVH or Airmar or (Original) Autohelm / Raymar

[QUOTE=lateral;1252918]Goodto hear justice prevailed! My experience with KVH was indifferent. Slow to respond & product registration sketchy. The KVH fluxgate 1000s I had turned incendary inside. Worked well until then though.

Quote:

Originally Posted by funjohnson

Thanks! I bought the RC25 as I got a better price than the RC42, but wanted to hear some feedback on these units. It seems that the RC25 is just a rebranded Maretron SC200.

Quote:

Originally Posted by funjohnson

Just for the record
IIRC, the RC25 is just an RFC35r without the nmea 0183 output sub-board..
It does not output Simnet (N2k) It outputs rate compensated Robnet. (Simrad 0183)

Re: Time for a New Heading Sensor . . . KVH or Airmar or (Original) Autohelm / Raymar

"Do you know who makes Simrad's RC42 rate compass?"

At a guess Simrad, or whoever built their RfC series. I have no experience with the RC42 & a quick look at the spec reveals it still has a fluxgate as opposed SS magnemometers.

Fast SS rate compass's/GPS's are about to plummet in price with the arrival of Lowerance point 1 & Simrad GS25. Not yet recommended for AP Or marpa.
No doubt it will happen though.
I guess the money is in the software/firmware developement. Can't be in the hardware.

Re: Time for a New Heading Sensor . . . KVH or Airmar or (Original) Autohelm / Raymar

The RC42 is not well suited to AP applications where you are steering to wind.

Not only is accuracy +/- 3 deg compared to the Airmar which is +/- 1 deg static or 2 dynamic (in my experience far better) it's refresh rate is not published and it does not appear to have an accelerometer (the Airmar has 3-axis accelerometers & 3-axis gyro), which together with the above mentioned deficiencies rule it out for anyone sailing to wind in a confused seaway.

The Airmar is a 10hz rate unit, with the exception of the firmware updated NKE clone it's best in class.

Remember a better, faster solution to the AP will also reduce power consumption by a huge amount so a good compass will pay for itself in no time. Almost every instrument on your boat depends on it to some degree so it's not a place to skimp.

Re: Time for a New Heading Sensor . . . KVH or Airmar or (Original) Autohelm / Raymar

It's worth noting that the Airmar is the only recreational heading sensor that uses a three-axis rate gyro for heading correction. It can also be simultaneously used with both NMEA 0183 and NMEA 2000 devices.

10hz processing will also depend on your pilot's processor as well. You may have it available from the compass, but the pilot may not be sophisticated or fast enough to make use of it.

Re: Time for a New Heading Sensor . . . KVH or Airmar or (Original) Autohelm / Raymar

The refresh rate of the RC42 is 20Hz. That is stated in the documentation we received with it, and is indirectly confirmed by the fact that our ARPA radar unit will not work with a compass with a refresh rate lower than 10Hz (and ARPA works just fine with the RC42).

Our RC42 AC42 autopilot combination works very well steering to wind. While your stated specs are correct, we haven't found it to be deficient in practice at all, and MUCH better than our old fluxgate system - in particular downwind, where it steers like on rails (this can also be attributed in part to the AP computer itself, as well as the wind sensor). Perhaps it is not as good as another compass, since I don't have another to compare to.

It has the advantage of being very easy to calibrate and install with Simrad and B&G pilots. Other compasses need a way to do this separately and may involve additional hardware or computer interfaces.

As for current draw, in heavy seas, our AP draws 4-7 amps. In calmer conditions it draws 3-4 amps. We always want lower current draw of course, but compared to our 12-17amp previous pilot draw, we are happy to be where we are now.

Re: Time for a New Heading Sensor . . . KVH or Airmar or (Original) Autohelm / Raymar

"Our RC42 AC42 autopilot combination works very well steering to wind. While your stated specs are correct, we haven't found it to be deficient in practice at all, and MUCH better than our old fluxgate system - in particular downwind, where it steers like on rails-It has the advantage of being very easy to calibrate and install with Simrad and B&G pilots."

Nothing like "proof of service"!
Try trying to configure the maretron SSC200 via a TE on a stormy night! Most current mdf's (I believe) now have built in menu's for this.
There is an easier way to do everything.